If you find that you can use bermuda and you sprig your field. Be sure to pack the ground behind it, then repack and repack. In other words, pack it as much as is feasible. I have seen many stand failures due to not packing - usually the failure is blamed on drought. I jury rigged an 18" by 10 foot water pipe and filled it with concrete. I use this to run over the ground at least twice after sprigging. Prior to packing with the pipe I would typically get a piece of a cutting the first year. After I started packing -I got 2 1/2 cuttings.
We have been in a bad drought too. The only thing that has saved me so far has been my Tift 85 fields. This is some fine grass but you may not want it since you got horses. I'm told horse people don't like it - too stemmy :roll: . Shortly though, I think they are going to release a grass called Coast Cross II. This will be like Tift 85 but have a finer leaf. I think they are still testing the cold hardiness of the grass. I'm told its looking good. When they release it, you might want to look into this as well.
You mentioned winter pastures. We have a cow calf operation and we tried this but found it not econmical in our situation since I could not limit graze the fields. The Mommas would eat everything and waste a lot of it. However, I found the Tift 85 is kinda like a bunch grass. Once the final cutting or grazing has been made there is a lot of dirt between the mother plants. We use a grain drill to plant ryegrass and clover on all the fields but the Tift 85 fields do much better. In my opinion, its because of all the bare dirt betwen the plants. A friend has good luck planting oats and rye mix in his fields.
I don't know if this will help you in N. Texas or not. Never been there. Just elaborating on what G&L Cattle said. But I did read somewhere that a university in Texas had gotten 5lb per day with creep on Tift 85. But like Cowtrek said, Texas is a big place.
I will guarantee you one thing, cows will run over several hundred yards of bahia to get to Tift 85 and if you put out 1 roll of Tift 85 and 3 bales of Alicia or Tift 44, the cows will all go to the Tift 85 and it will be the first bale eaten. It is amazing. Of course, it doesn't take much to amaze me :lol: